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H. E. HENRC,

REveRslNG GEAR MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-12,1915- 9 95, E. 3 6 Patented Aug. 15, 1915,

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

R. E. HENEC.

REVERSING GEAR MECHANISNI.

APPLICATION min Nov. 12.- i915.

Patented Aug. l5, 1916.

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f f MMM RUDOLF E. HENRICI, 0F RIDGEFIELD, WASHINGTON.

` REvERsINe-GEAR MEcHANIsM.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

Application filed November 12, 1915. Serial No. 61,168.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUDOLF E. HENRICI, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Ridgefield, county ofV Clark, State of Vashington, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Reversing-Gear Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to reversing gear mechanism used for transmitting either direct or reverse motion from a prime mover to a work shaft.

This invention is particularly adaptable foi1 use in connection with marine engines, and one of the main objects of this invention is to provide a strong, reliable, noiseless reversing gear, thel elements of which are fully exposed, so that all parts may be readily inspected and maintained in proper adjustment.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a side elevation of a marine engine, the propeller shaft driven by said engine, and the reversing gear mechanism of my invention as used in connection therewith; Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing an alternate construction of certain elements of the reversing gear mechanism; Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 3-3 of Fig. l; Fig. A is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section of one of the clutch members. showing the details of construction; and Fig. G is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing an alternate construction.

Referring to the drawings, a marine engine of the standard type is indicated by a.

Z) is the engine shaft and c is a propeller shaft adapted to be driven either directly or reversely from the engine.

The reversing gear mechanism of my invention is indicated in its entirety by (Z, and such mechanism comprises a base e provided with pedestals 7E g, which support the two sets of journal boxes ZL ZL h2 and Z z" 2, the members of each set being in longitudinal alinement. A crank shaft 7c has a bearing in the journal box 2. Said crank shaft is provided'with one crank Z0 and one end of said crank is rigidly connected to the engine shaft b by a shaft coupling j, the other end having mounted thereon a male friction clutch member Z. The latter is longitudinally movable by a key Z, but by the same is held non-rotatable relative to the crank shaft Z0. The clutch member Z is further provided with a hub in which is a peripheral groove m adapted to receive a clutch shifter element. A companion crank shaft a, provided with two cranks a a2 located relatively at -90 degrees with respect to each other (see Fig. 4), is journaled in the bearings z' i. One end of this crank shaft has rigidly fixed thereon a female clutch member o, in juxta-position with the clutch member Z, and the other end of said shaft is bolted to the propeller shaft c by the shaft coupling p. When the male clutch member Z, is moved into engagement with the companion female member o, the shafts Zo and fa will be directly connected, and the drive of the engine shaft b will be transmitted in direct motion to the propeller shaft c.

Journaled in the bearing ft2 is a shaft r. The latter has fixed on one end a male clutch member r, similar in construction to the clutch member Z shown in Fig. 5. On the other end of said shaft 7 is aflixed a crank disk r2, provided with a crank pin r3. A connecting link .s connects the crank pin r3 with the crank c, and these parts are so positioned that reverse motion, will be transmitted from the shaftZc to the shaft r. A crank shaft t, provided with two cranks 25 Z2, is journaled in the bearings ZL Zt, and this shaft has fixed on one end the female clutch member Z3, similar in Construction and location to the clutch member o shown in Fig. 5. Connecting links t4 Z5 connect the cranks n Z and a2 t2. A lateral rock-shaft u is mounted in a bearing formed in the pedestal g, midway between the shafts 7c and r, and has fixed on one end a double-armed clutch shifting member u. On the other end of said rock-shaft u is fixed an operating lever u2. The clutch shifting member a has its opposite arms formed so as to engage the grooves of the clutch members Z and r', and is so adjusted that when the operating lever u2 is thrown forward in the position shown in Fig. 1 the clutch members Z, o will be thrown into engagement, and the members r t3 will be disengaged. Direct motion will then be transmitted from the shaft b to the shaft c through the medium of the shafts 7c and fn. IVhen the lever u2 is in vertical alinement,

1both clutches will be disengaged, thereby allowing the engine to run idle, and when the lever u2 is thrown to the rear the Clutch members 1" t will be engaged, the clutch members Z and 0 will be disengaged, and reverse motion will be transmitted from the engine shaft to the shaft c through the medium of the reversing connecting link 8 and the direct connecting links t4 t5.

If desired, the construction shown in Fig. 6 may be used. This construction includes a cross-head guide-way formed integrally with the pedestal g, a cross-head fu reciprocable therein, the latter being connected to the crank pin r3 by a link o and to the crank 71: by a link 02.

In Fig. 2 a pair of reversing gears w fw are substituted for the crank disk r2 and the crank k. Furthermore, the cranks at the rear ends of the mechanism are eliminated and direct motion is transmitted through the medium of a chain drive ai, running over sprockets fixed on the respective shafts. It is obvious, of course, that any reverse motion device may be used at one end of the mechanism, and any direct motion device used at the other end. And the friction clutches and other parts may be of any type of construction best suited to the specific case in which the installation is vto be made.

I claim:

1. In a reversing gear mechanism the combination of a driving shaft and a driven shaft, a divided shaft located between and having its ends connected with the adjacent ends of said driving and driven shafts, an auxiliary divided shaft located in parallelism with the first mentioned divided shaft, clutches adapted to engage the adjacent ends of the divided shaft members, a reversing' connection between corresponding sections of the two divided shafts, a direct, connection between the other sections of said divided shafts, and means for operating the friction clutches oppositely in synchronism.

2. In a reversing gear mechanism thecombination of a driving shaft and a driven shaft, a divided shaft located between and having its ends connected with the adjacent ends of said driving and driven shafts, an auxiliary divided shaft located in parallelism with Vthe first mentioned divided shaft, clutches adapted to engage the adjacent ends of the divided shaft members, a reversing crank connection between corresponding sections of the two divided shafts, a direct connection between the other sections of said divided shafts, and means for operating the friction clutches oppositely in synchronism.

3. In a reversing gear mechanism the combination of a driving shaft and a driven Y shaft, a divided shaft located between and having its ends connected with the adjacent ends of said driving and driven shafts, an auxiliary divided shaft located in parallelism with the first mentioned divided shaft, clutches adapted to engage the adjacent ends of the divided shaft members, a reversing crank connection between corresponding sections of the two divided shafts, a direct crank connection between the other sections of said divided shafts, and means for operating the friction clutches oppositely in synchronism.

l1. In a reversing Agear mechanism the combination of a driving shaft and a driven shaft, a divided shaft located between and having its ends connected with the adjacent ends of said driving and driven shafts, an auxiliary divided shaft located in parallelism with the first mentioned divided shaft, clutches adapted to engage the adjacent ends of the divided shaft members, a reversing connection between corresponding sections of the two divided shafts, a direct crank connection between the other sections of said divided shafts, and means for operating the friction clutches oppositely in synchronism. j

5. In a reversing gear mechanism the combination of a driving shaft and a driven shaft, a divided crank shaft located between and having its ends connected with the adjacent ends of said driving and driven shafts, an auxiliary divided crank shaft located in parallelism with the first mentioned divided shaft, friction clutches adapted to engage the adjacent ends of the divided shaft members, a reversing crank connection between corresponding sections of the two divided shafts, a direct crank connection between the other sections of said divided shafts, and means for operating the friction clutches oppositely in synchronisin.

6. In a reversing gear mechanism the combination of a driving shaft and a driven shaft, a divided shaft located between and having its ends connected with the adjacent ends of said driving and driven shafts, an auxiliary divided shaft located in parallelism with the rst mentioned divided shaft, friction clutches adapted to engage the adjacent ends of the divided shaft members,

having its endsV connected with the adjacent ends of said driving and driven shafts,-

cranks on the members of said divided shaft, an auxiliary divided shaft located in parallelism With the first mentioned divided shaft, cranks on the members of said auxiliary divided shaft, friction clutches adapted to engage the adjacent ends of t-he divided shaft members, a reversing crank connection between corresponding sections of the two divided shafts7 a direct crank con- 10 nection between the other sections of said divided shafts, and means for operating the friction clutches oppositely in synchronism.

RUDOLF E. HENRICI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents7 Washington, D. C. 

